Learn about NPSS

The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) originated in 1949 as the Professional Group on Nuclear Science within the IRE. At about the same time, the AIEE formed two committees, one on nucleonics, the other on nucleonic and radiation instruments. In 1963, the IRE and AIEE merged to form the IEEE. This resulted in the creation of the Nuclear Science Group. In 1972, Plasma Science was added and the group was promoted to a society. The NPSS is composed of eight technical committees, and a Transnational Committee, with a common interest in advancing nuclear and plasma sciences.

Organizes and supports many symposia, conferences and workshops each year.

Publishes three Transactions (one in collaboration with three other societies).

Publishes a Newsletter that reaches all members three times a year.

Presents awards each year to recognize major contributors to the field.

Access to publications through IEEE Xplore™ on-line.

Save on conference registration.

Keep in touch via the NPSS Newsletter (worth more than the dues by itself!).

Support the growth of the profession.

Get involved in the affairs of NPSS and help direct and further promote our profession and make further valuable contacts.

Message From The President

A warm welcome to the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) website. We are one of the IEEE’s 39 societies and our focus is around eight Technical Committees.

This web site gives you information about our society, our upcoming conferences, awards, chapters and local activities, our distinguished lecturers program and our publications. In addition, I would like to draw your attention to our Facebook page, where we regularly publish news and announcements.

I am very grateful to those of you who have dedicated time and effort to our society as a volunteer, conference organizer, paper reviewer or in any other function. I would strongly encourage all others to contact me (stefan.ritt@psi.ch) or any of the Technical Committee or Functional Chairs to assist you in contributing to our society and thereby enriching your membership. If you publish in one of our journals, why not help with editorial responsibilities? If you attend our conferences, why not volunteer in the organization of a future conference? You will not only meet great people who will strengthen your network, but I promise that you also feel a great personal satisfaction if a paper is improved a bit or a conference runs a bit more smoothly. Remember that YOU can make a difference!

If you are not yet an NPSS member, please consider the benefits of membership. If you are not sure about the benefits, consider signing up for a trial membership at one of our conferences. For students and young professionals it is especially important to build up a professional network. We cannot give you job security, but we can make your career safer. If you stay current in technology and network with others in your field through the services and products the IEEE and NPSS offer, you will become a more valuable engineer or scientist. If your job disappears, you will most likely have no problem finding another one.

Please use our web site extensively to discover the various facets of our society. If you miss any information or have suggestions for improvement, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

NPSS Fields of Interest

The fields of interest of the Society are the nuclear and plasma sciences. The Society shall devote itself to publication or other dissemination of original contributions to the theory, experiments, educational methods and applications of these fields, and to the development of standards. Areas of technical activity shall include but not be limited to the following:
Nuclear science and engineering, and plasma science and engineering, including computer applications in plasma and nuclear science, nuclear medical and imaging sciences, particle accelerator science and technology, pulsed power science and technology, radiation effects, and radiation instrumentation.

IEEE Smart Village Humanitarian Project

The IEEE Smart Village (formerly Community Solutions Initiative) is a member-led not-for-profit humanitarian outreach program of the IEEE. In 2014, the IEEE Foundation accepted IEEE Smart Village as one of its four “Signature Programs,” of the IEEE thus adding to its menu of innovative initiatives, a humanitarian mission that delivers immediate impact to the world’s poorest and most energy-deprived populations.

Smart Village is unique in that it does not provide grants in the traditional sense; instead, micro-utility equipment is donated to an NGO partner. This concept grew out of a multi-society member-inspired initiative committed to open-source design and delivery of energy, education, and technology to the far off-grid electricity impoverished. Its unique emphasis is on the stimulus of social enterprise via the donation of equipment, training, and start-up expertise to become self sustaining community owned and operated micro-utilities.

Widely supported by IEEE’s societies and councils, Smart Village is actively seeking funding support and volunteers interested in helping with the deployment, organizational design and expansion of the program. We hope you will consider your personal participation in IEEE Smart Village. Learn more about IEEE Smart Village here.

History of NPSS

The first activity of record in this field was the formation of a Nuclear Studies Committee in the IRE in 1947, to determine the proper role of the IRE in this new technical field. Subsequently, in 1949 a petition was filed for the formation of a Professional Group on Nuclear Science, and it was approved on April 5, 1949, with L. R. Hafstad as Chairman. On April 29, an organizational meeting was held, the membership at that time consisting of 54, increasing to 970 by the end of the year.

The new organization became visible on a number of fronts in the early 50’s. In 1953, the PGNS formed an Atomic Energy Policy Committee, which fielded a strong effort to have the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 modified. These efforts came to fruition in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Early in the 50’s the PGNS became a co-sponsor of the Scintillation Counter Symposium, which has now merged into the Nuclear Science Symposium. Also in 1954 the first issue of the Transactions on Nuclear Science appeared. In 1956 the number of issues of the Transactions was increased from one a year to four.

At essentially the same time as the Professional Group on Nuclear Science was formed in the IRE, the AIEE formed a number of committees and subcommittees to work in this area, the most important being the Nucleonics Committee and Committee on Nucleonic and Radiation Instruments. With the merger of the IRE and AIEE on January 1, 1963, to form the IEEE, procedures were begun to merge the like-interest groups of the former societies. The IRE Professional Group on Nuclear Science merged with the AIEE Nucleonics Committee and the Committee on Nucleonic and Radiation Instruments on October 29, 1963, to become the Nuclear Science Group of the IEEE.

In 1972 two major events occurred for the Group. Midyear the scope was widened to include the plasma science field and in September the group was given Society status. The augmented group became the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society. March of 1973 saw the debut of a second publication, the Transactions on Plasma Science. NPSS thus has the distinction of issuing two publications, in addition to a newsletter.

Over the years the Society has inaugurated or assumed responsibility for a number of conferences. Every year the Society sponsors conferences on Plasma Science, Radiation Effects, and Nuclear Science. Conferences on Particle Accelerators, Fusion Engineering, and Data Acquisition in Nuclear and Particle Physics are sponsored every other year. In addition, other conferences such as Symposium on Nuclear Power systems are co-sponsored by the Society.

NPSS Nuclear Power Initiative

There is resurgence in interest in nuclear power throughout the world as a result of the exponentially growing demand for energy and the simultaneous concerns for production of green house gases from conventional fossil-fuel power plants. Global electricity needs are expected to double well before 2050 with the largest fraction of that new generation of power coming from coal. Nuclear power is a rapidly growing element in the global energy mix, with some projecting the number of nuclear plants in the world growing by as much as a factor three, to 1200 plants, by 2050.

The IEEE NPSS Nuclear Science Symposium (NSS) originated in the early 50’s and has been held annually since. The symposium concentrated on the detectors and electronics for high-energy and nuclear physics and is recognized as the premier meeting for leading developments in these fields.

The IEEE NPSS reintroduced the topic of nuclear power into the NSS program in 2008. Future NSS conferences will include sessions on Nuclear Power to cover this broad subject area. Participants working in the field of nuclear power will benefit from the scientific contributions presented in the other well-established NSS sessions on Nuclear Measurements and Monitoring Techniques, Neutron Instrumentation, Radiation Damage Effects, and Safety Instrumentation / Homeland Security, among others.

NSS sessions on Nuclear Power consider the inclusion of papers on the topics of: